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Hungry Jack’s burger chain launches no added hormones campaign + VIDEO

Beef Central, 17/02/2016

NATIONAL fast food chain Hungry Jack’s last night launched a ‘no added hormones’ campaign as part of its beef burger offer.

The company claims consumer support for the move, but offers no scientific basis for its decision whatsoever.

Hungry Jack’s launched the program with this TV campaign last night:

Hungry Jack’s joins supermarket retail giant Coles as a large national domestic beef customer in adopting a no-HGP strategy as a point of difference in its beef offer in the marketplace.

The company is the Australian derivative of global burger giant, Burger King, but there is no suggestion that the no-added hormones move will apply in overseas markets. Given the volumes required, it would be virtually impossible to apply in the US market for example, where lotfed cattle are almost universally treated with hormonal growth promotants as a productivity tool.

Once again, metropolitan media showed clear misunderstanding of the issue, suggesting in headlines that Hungry Jack’s was using ‘hormone-free’ beef. All beef contains natural occurring hormones, and the difference between HGP-treated and untreated cattle is almost imperceptible.

The company overnight added this discussion page to its consumer website.

“At Hungry Jack’s when we say the burgers are better, we really mean it,” it tells customers. “We’re committed to serving the best flame-grilled beef burgers in the business. Unlike our key competitors we can guarantee all our beef is 100pc pure Aussie and has no added hormones.”

In response to its own question about how Hungry Jack’s can guarantee its beef has no added hormones, the company says this:

“All Hungry Jack’s beef is from ‘known and trusted’ Australian suppliers and certified to contain no added hormones. We have installed a rigorous verification processes to ensure that all the beef used in our patties come from cattle raised with no added hormones.”

Major rival McDonald’s Australia said it would not follow Hungry Jack’s lead, because it “could impact the livelihood of farmers.”

McDonald’s provided the following comment to Beef Central this morning:

“At this stage McDonald’s will not be making any changes to the way we source our beef. McDonald’s purchases more than $260 million worth of Australian beef each year for consumption both here and overseas, and the decisions we make directly impact the livelihood of Aussie farmers. Our suppliers and growers meet all local regulations and standards.”

On its US website, McDonald’s says:

‘Most of the cattle we get our beef from are treated with added hormones, a common practice in the US that ranchers use to promote growth.’

 

Hungry Jack’s raised concerns over unsubstantiated links to cancer and health problems as part of its explanation for the move – even though the practice has been deemed ‘safe for human consumption’ by the Federal government.

“Our guarantee to provide customers no added hormone beef will not affect the price,” a spokesman said.

Hungry Jack’s chief marketing officer Scott Baird said the change was based on consumer research.

“This is an initiative that our customers told us they wanted,” he said. “Customers demand greater transparency in the food they are eating. For Hungry Jack’s this means beef with no added hormones that is 100pc pure Australian, with no added preservatives or fillers.”

Cattle Council of Australia’s Jed Matz said consumers should not be concerned about the use of added hormones in beef production.

“You would have to eat more than 77kg of beef from treated cattle at one time to get the same oestrogen that you get from eating one egg,” he said.

Australian consumer surveys have consistently shown that the use of HGPs do not rate on any list where consumers are simply asked what they are looking for in beef. Price, safety, quality and tenderness are the dominant responses.

It is only when such surveys ask specific questions about the presence of added hormones that negatives responses emerge.

 

HGP fact file

  • Hormonal Growth Promotants (HGPs) have been used in Australia since 1979.
  • Around 40 percent of Australian cattle are treated with HGPs at some point before slaughter.
  • The use of HGPs is allowed in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, South Africa and Japan.
  • A 2003 report by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing found ‘there is unlikely to be any appreciable risk to consumers from eating meat from cattle that have been treated with HGPs’.
  • The use of HGPs in Australia is approved and regulated by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Mauaz Khan, 20/02/2021

    Hi,
    I’m the resident of Tamworth NSW. I really want to taste the burgers of Hungry Jack but before that I want to confirm few things.
    I want to know if the meat & chicken are halal. If it’s halal then all we need to ask the restaurant manager to be careful from contamination with bacon. And if they can do this it will be great.
    In Tamworth we have a growing community of Muslims & they rely only on KFC cuz they make sure chicken doesn’t get contaminated with bacon due to which a lot of Muslims are using the product.
    I would like to talk more about this. Please feel to contact.

    Mauaz Khan

  2. c00l guy, 21/02/2016

    I’m confused. No ‘added’ hormones. so does it still have hormones? just not added?

    Correct. All living animals contain hormones. It’s how they function. The difference in the level of hormones contained in a piece of beef from an HGP-treated versus untreated animal are so small, it is almost impossible to measure, even at laboratory level. If any consumers are concerned about the level of hormones in HGP-treated beef, they should first eliminate items like beer, eggs, cabbage and tofu from their diets. All contain oestrogen in concentrations far, far higher than either treated or untreated beef. Having said that, we understand your confusion. It’s not hard to find a butcher’s display window in Australia proclaiming, “No hormones” or “Hormone free” in its beef offer. Beef Central has even had to correct a major national supermarket group over a ‘Hormone Free” reference in its stores. Click on this link to see some proof – since corrected by the company involved. Still a little more education needed, MLA/AMIC?
    Just another friendly reminder to readers offering comments – full names required please, as per our comment conditions found on our About Us page. Editor.

  3. Shane Irwin, 18/02/2016

    Hungry jacks have always had the best burgers,but the service at some of their stores is shamefully poor.

  4. Bruce Collins, 17/02/2016

    I won’t be eating at Hungry Jacks.

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